This invention relates to support beams or support spines for an office furniture system, particularly a system of the modular type, which can be used to support not only work surfaces but also office equipment such as computers and telephone systems.
A variety of modular office furniture systems have been developed by various companies. These systems can be used to construct office desks and workstations having a variety of configurations and layouts. Modular furniture systems can also be made from a variety of materials, including metal, wood and suitable plastics. Each system is generally provided with a number of standard, basic components such as supporting frames, supporting beams, and work surfaces and these components make it possible to provide a furniture arrangement that is particularly suited for an individual customer's needs.
In recent years, with the development of the electronic office and the more extensive and wide spread use of computers, particularly personal computers, modular office furniture systems that take into account the need to support and hold electronic and computer equipment have been developed. In fact, in many modern offices, there is a need for a substantial amount of electrical and electronic equipment to be accommodated together with communication equipment in a relatively small space and the necessary wiring and cables for this equipment must be routed to the equipment in a manner which not only does not detract from the appearance of the office but also enables relative easy installation of the equipment and the subsequent servicing thereof.
The use of support beams as a basic component of a modular office furniture system is well known in the art. These support beams can be supported above the floor by means of suitable support legs or posts and wiring and cable can be routed through the interior of the beam. The use of a support beam of this type is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,177 issued Jun. 13, 1989 to Nova-Link Limited, which is also the assignee of the present application. The disclosure and drawings of this United States patent are incorporated herein by reference. The beam in this patent has a rectangular transverse cross-section that includes a top panel or plate and two vertical side plates connected together by the top plate. The beam also has a bottom plate and all sides of the beam, including the top and bottom, are formed with access openings through which wiring can be run, for example.
In more recent U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,903 issued Jun. 20, 2000 to Nova-Link Limited, there is disclosed a modular workstation system which incorporates a support beam of the aforementioned type. In this system, a support wall is mounted on top of the beam by means of upright posts and connecting slats extend horizontally along this wall. This workstation system also teaches the use of an open mesh raceway that can be mounted on the support posts for the wall and is located a short distance above the beam. Suitable holes formed in the top of the beam are capable of receiving the wall posts. The disclosure and drawings of this U.S. patent are also incorporated herein by reference. It will be noted that in both of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,838,177 and 6,076,903, the support beam, although mounted in an elevated position above the floor by means of supporting legs, is still located a substantial distance below the top of the work surface which can be mounted on one or both sides of the beam by means of support brackets.
Another workstation system for an office is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,224,769 which issued Sep. 30, 1980. The beam assembly in this U.S. patent has a height which extends from approximately knee height to work surface height. The beam assembly includes a centrally disposed I-beam having upper and lower closed box sections that are interconnected by an unbroken vertical, central web. This I-beam is reinforced by an upper channel member which has up turned flanges affixed to the top of the upper box section. An additional channel member can be affixed to the bottom of the lower box section to increase rigidly. The space between the upper and lower box sections defines horizontal raceways (made of bent sheet metal) for laying the electrical and communication wiring. Cover panels are also provided for the top and sides of this beam assembly. Difficulties with this known beam assembly include the fact that there are no openings through the interconnecting web section of the beam to allow wiring and cables to pass through this section of the beam in the transverse direction and the beam is not designed for use with other types of central frame supports which may be desirable for certain types of office equipment or for certain modular office furniture requirements.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved support beam for an office furniture system that can be made at a reasonable cost while at the same time being quite strong and capable of being used in a variety of ways.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved support frame for an office furniture system which includes an elongate beam capable of carrying electrical and communication wires, elongate end frame sections extending downwardly from opposite ends of the beam, and an open mesh raceway mounted on a lower portion of the beam and extending downwardly from this lower portion.
According to a further object of the present invention, there is provided an improved support frame which includes an elongate beam constructed with at least one central cavity extending downwardly from holes in the top of the beam and which has fastener holes in walls forming this cavity for securing posts that can be mounted in the top of the beam.